The Peasants' War (french: Guerre des Paysans, nl, Boerenkrijg, german: Klöppelkrieg, lb, Klëppelkrich) was a
peasant revolt
This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role.
Background
The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including:
...
in 1798 against the
French occupiers of the
Southern Netherlands
The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...
, a region which now includes
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, and parts of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The French had
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
the region in 1795 and control of the region was officially
ceded
The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...
to the French after the
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...
in 1797.
The revolt is considered part of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
.
Motivations for war
After the
Southern Netherlands
The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...
was annexed by France, the French
revolutionaries
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
began to implement their policies regarding the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The
Civil Constitution of the Clergy required that
priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...
take an
oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to the state. Priests who refused such an oath (non-juring priests) were considered to be
enemies of the state
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...
and could be removed from their positions and homes.
Additionally, in early 1798, the French
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...
passed a law requiring
compulsory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
. This law ordered the conscription of men between the ages of 20 and 25 in all French territories. General conscription was an innovation and was met with anger by the men who were forced into service.
By region
Flanders
The majority of the conflict during the Peasants' War occurred in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
(
Lys and
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
départements) and Brabant (
Deux-Nèthes
Deux-Nèthes (, nl, Twee Neten) was a department of the First French Republic and of the First French Empire in present-day Belgium and the Netherlands. It was named after two branches of the river Nete (Grote Nete and Kleine Nete). The southern ...
and
Dyle départements). Referred to as the ''Boerenkrijg'', it is referenced by some historians as a Belgian national revolt, and an indication of a desire for independence by Belgium.
In Flanders the revolt was somewhat organized, with the people seeking aid from foreign nations such as
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
. The revolution began on 12 October 1798, with peasants taking up arms against the French in
Overmere
Berlare () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Berlare proper, and , as well as the village . The Donkmeer, a large lake and a regional tourist attraction, is located central ...
. Initially the rebellion was somewhat successful. However, it was crushed less than two months later, on 5 December in
Hasselt
Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...
, because the peasants lacked proper arms and training. An estimated 5,000–10,000 people were killed during the uprising. Additionally, 170 leaders of the rebellion were
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
.
[Orts 1863, p. 211]
Luxembourg
In Luxembourg (
Forêts
Forêts was a department of the French First Republic, and later the First French Empire, in present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. Its name, meaning 'forests', comes from the Ardennes forests. It was formed on 24 October 1795, after t ...
département), the revolt was called ''Klëppelkrich''. This revolt quickly spread, consuming most of
West Eifel
The West Eifel (german: Westeifel) refers to that part of the Eifel mountains in Germany that is centred on the town of Prüm and reaches as far as the border with Belgium and Luxembourg. It is not geographically precisely defined however, overla ...
.
[Kreins (2003), p. 66] The primary
combatants
Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...
in Luxembourg were the peasantry. The
middle and
upper classes
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
were not driven to revolt, as the
anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
and the modernisation brought by the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
were somewhat beneficial to them.
Lacking both financial support from the middle classes, and proper military training, the peasants were quickly put down by the French
occupation
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
force. Ninety-four
insurgents
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...
were
tried
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
; of these, 42 were executed.
In later culture
* ''De Boerenkrijg'': an 1853 novel by
Hendrik Conscience
Henri (Hendrik) Conscience (3 December 1812 – 10 September 1883) was a Belgian author. He is considered the pioneer of Dutch-language literature in Flanders, writing at a time when Belgium was dominated by the French language among the upper cl ...
* Episodes of the war were depicted by the 19th century Belgian artist and sculptor
Constantin Meunier
Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian painter and sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of mode ...
. The war has been romanticized in some cases as a proper Belgian revolution, as it was a major uprising fighting for independence from external rule.
See also
*
Brabant Revolution
The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (french: Révolution brabançonne, nl, Brabantse Omwenteling), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austr ...
*
Siege of Malta, which began as a peasant uprising against French rule in 1798
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
*
*
* .
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
1798 in France
1798 in the Southern Netherlands
18th century in Luxembourg
18th-century rebellions
Belgian nationalism
Berlare
Campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
Conflicts in 1798
History of the Eifel
Revolts involving Flanders
Social class in Luxembourg
Social history of Belgium